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Original poster

Osama bin Laden is DEAD?!

230 replies

CheerfulYank · 02/05/2011 04:09

?! Shock

OP posts:
Meglet · 02/05/2011 12:46

I think I heard that Obama is coming to the UK this month anyway and it was too much hassle to arrange 2 major visits within a short time.

Original poster
CheerfulYank · 02/05/2011 13:02

They have been waiting for DNA evidence to be sure it was him.

I agree about the celebrations. I'm not anywhere near Times Square or the White House (I'm in boring old Minnesota :) ) but I wouldn't have gone if I were. I'm not sad he's dead - he was an evil, unhinged man- but I am sorry that another human being has done such awful things that his death would have any reason to be a celebration.

I think if there were a possibility of capture and trial, JSOC would have tried, but apparently there was a fight and bin Laden was killed as a result. He surely would have been sentenced to death anyway.

OP posts:
ilovemydogandMrObama · 02/05/2011 15:48

How can they be waiting for DNA evidence if the raid was last night? There was a resident of the town where the raid was, and he said that it was last night.

littleducks · 02/05/2011 15:51

It wasn't last night.....it is all a bit odd when it wasHmm, reports have ranged from last week to Sunday

Frimblypoo · 02/05/2011 15:55

The BBC report it as last night
apparently an IT consultant nearby was inadvertantly tweeting it as it happened Hmm

ilovemydogandMrObama · 02/05/2011 16:00

On BBC News 24 at 15:00, a resident of the town in Pakistan where Bin Laden was living, said the raid was last night.

But agree that the White House/State Department are being very vague about releasing details. Like when Saddam Hussein was found, seem to remember them giving the time, place of where he was found and the details.

mathanxiety · 02/05/2011 16:15

I would have gone out to celebrate too.

There is a report he used a woman as a human shield. A hero's death... But it's hard to know what to believe. Apparently two of his sons were also killed.

I am inclined to suspect the event happened a while ago, and that a lot of effort has gone into securing US potential targets both at home and abroad in advance of the announcement. (Plus the postponing of the Royal honeymoon).

No doubt there will be massive fallout within Pakistan, many scores settled, big shakeout in the army and intelligence: it behoves the US to direct as far as possible the course of events in the near future there. The fact that he was hiding in plain sight so close to Islamabad and so close to the major military school suggests there was high level protection afforded to him there. Looks like India is right about the level of double dealing going on within Pakistan. It's not just the ungoverned tribal areas where terrorists can hide out but apparently right under the nose of the government. It is also probable that this raid was carried out without any information given to the government of Pakistan.

mathanxiety · 02/05/2011 16:16

Very handy to have an IT consultant living so close by. Tweeting no less.

HauntedLittleLunatic · 02/05/2011 16:53

I was getting confused on thus thread....then I realised that there is only 1 character difference between Obama and Osama....

sfxmum · 02/05/2011 17:00

it seems to have confused Fox news too

DarthNiqabi · 02/05/2011 17:18

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ilovesprouts · 02/05/2011 17:56

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

albania · 02/05/2011 18:01

Not a funny joke, fwiw.
Especially since Justin Bieber is what, 14? Jedward not much older, either.

Doobydoo · 02/05/2011 18:08

Could be one down just Bush and Blair to go.

wotnochocs · 02/05/2011 18:18

bieber is 17, Jedward 20

'I am inclined to suspect the event happened a while ago, and that a lot of effort has gone into securing US potential targets both at home and abroad in advance of the announcement. (Plus the postponing of the Royal honeymoon).'
Surely though AQ would have known of his death and it would be imposiible to keep it quiet?

IngridBergman · 02/05/2011 18:21

I heard about this vaguely and thought they'd actually killed him a few years ago - and what does it matter? is he not now irrelevant? He hasn't done much for ten years, well if he did the original deed in any case which is far from certain.

It just makes me wonder what they're up to. It's a publicity thing, clearly, and leaves zillions of his supporters hanging about in any case. One man is dead, it's ridiculous. I didn't have any idea it would be such a big deal in the US.

IngridBergman · 02/05/2011 18:24

I mean what was the point if it just puts us in greater danger? Why did they bother?

OnlyTwin · 02/05/2011 18:33

There is a convincing theory that Bin Laden died years ago of kidney disease.... he only seems to pop up in the media as a handy nemesis from time to time whenever a US president needs to win an election.

IngridBergman · 02/05/2011 18:34

Oh is there an election coming up?

mathanxiety · 02/05/2011 19:09

No election any time soon. As soon as the last election is settled, the new one begins to loom on the horizon in the US however, as their timing is set by law, unlike the UK.

This is a huge deal in the US and not for publicity reasons. He is held to have been personally responsible for the WTC terrorism and all succeeding efforts to bring terror to the US. Also, his capture dead or alive was vowed in the wake of the WTC bombing the US is 100% serious about doing what it says it will where national security is concerned. The significance of this is echoed in the President's speech where he essentially spoke about the US doing whatever it needed to do to ensure national security 'over the years I have repeatedly made clear that we would take action within Pakistan' if circumstances demanded, on the basis that AlQuaeda had declared war on Pakistan too... And he goes on to say that the US will do whatever it takes to safeguard national security. There was a clear message to Pakistan that the time has come to choose what side it is on and to choose the US.

'America can do whatever we set our mind to' is disguised as the usual national myth but it could also mean 'we will do whatever we want to in anyone's backyard because no-one can stop us'. This is the message of the killing of Osama bin Laden.

Original poster
CheerfulYank · 02/05/2011 19:09

Not til next year, no.

Yes, it could be that he died years ago, or is not dead at all, but I doubt that either are true. When you hear hoofbeats, assume horses til you have reason to think zebras.

OP posts:
OnlyTwin · 02/05/2011 19:13

Next year, but approval was dipping. Particularly regarding foreign policy. Just before the 2004 re-election of Bush, a Bin Laden video emerged denouncing him...

Original poster
CheerfulYank · 02/05/2011 19:19

Math I don't think that the US should be able to do "whatever they want in anyone's backyard", but he was responsible for the deaths of almost 3,000 innocent people. He deserved to be caught, no matter where he was.

OP posts:
ilovesprouts · 02/05/2011 19:27

my post was not ment for here it was for fb i have asked for it to be took off asap

purits · 02/05/2011 20:25

I think that the jubilation over OBL's death is wrong. It is wrong to celebrate anyone's death. It is fine to celebrate that he can no longer perpetrate evil but it is wrong to gloat over the death of another human being. Denounce the sin, not the sinner.

The attack may have been a bit late but it does have a message. It says that, no matter how long it takes, the USA will hunt down those who harm it. So those who are thinking about 'retaliation' will know that they would be added to the 'wanted:alive or dead' list.